Students understand climate variability at different time scales (annual, interannual, trends) across different environmental variables, as well as the approach to analyze future changes through climate change projections.
Students associate and characterize the different climatic processes related to the atmosphere and the ocean.
Students are familiar with meteo-oceanographic variables and how to combine deterministic and probabilistic variables for their application in coastal engineering problems, including coastal hazard characterization and risk assessment.
Students are able to apply and manage available meteorographic and climatic information, including the key concepts of wave generation, wave propagation and wave breaking (in deep and shallow water), observations and models, and the concept of radiation stress and its importance in forcing currents and shallow water level gradients on the coast.
Students understand the characteristics of waves, sea level and winds, both in the short and long term, anywhere on the coast, even in the case of unusual extreme events.
Students understand the natural processes, as well as their temporal and spatial scales, which are responsible for the existence of coastal hazards and risks.
Students should be able to identify and apply the existing warning systems for each of the coastal hazards and the main risk reduction measures that can be adopted, as well as systematize indicators and monitoring and warning systems that currently exist for coastal hazards.
Students know the best way to establish surveillance, warning and management systems to deal with coastal and marine risks.
Students are able to apply bidirectional interactions between hazards and society (exposure and human actions) as promoters of risk and its change over time.
Students manage to understand and analyze how long-term climate trends can affect coastal morphodynamics, design coastal actions based on the use of traditional and/or novel solutions, anchored in the use of nature-based solutions that tend to mitigate such changes.
Students should be able to explain the processes that govern hydrodynamics and coastal and estuarine morphology.
Students know and handle the different existing numerical models of wave propagation, port agitation, currents induced by wave breakage, wave-structure interaction, sediment transport and coastal morphodynamic evolution, currently used for the characterization and study of coastal dynamics and for the design of coastal protections, being able to choose the appropriate model for a given problem.
Students understand each of the existing model families in the state of the art of coastal applications, and are able to identify and correctly apply each of the models according to the needs, objectives, hypotheses and limitations each study deals with.
Studentsknow how to correctly interpret the results of each model, and determine model performance capabilities by comparing it with observational datasets.
Students are able to apply their acquired knowledge to the solution of problems, situations and real projects of coastal studies.
Students manage to understand and evaluate the different components of risks: hazard, vulnerability and exposure, knowing the different natural and technological risks posed by the different coastal hazards.
Students can understand and apply the main methodologies and tools for the assessment of flood risk and coastal erosion.
Students are able to determine the risks resulting from a marine and coastal phenomenon through calculations and/or indicators, and develop representative risk maps in coastal areas.
Students learn about and propose mitigation and adaptation measures to reduce the tsunami threat in coastal areas.
Students are able to develop ideas and results, and present them, in relation to a risk study.
Students are able to explain the difference between alternative types of coastal protection infrastructure and the factors that govern their selection.
Students are able to design breakwaters, from conceptual to detailed, and prepare detailed layouts and cross-sections, and perform a basic design of dikes and revetments.
Students are able to design solutions for beach regeneration (development of ecological skills).
Students manage to understand the basic ecological principles and nature-based solutions (development of green skills), relevant for construction from a nature approach, and evaluate the potential of construction with nature and eco-engineering solutions and what principles can be applied in different situations.
Students should be able to define the best possible and most effective and sustainable adaptation measures, from hard protection to hybrid interventions or solutions which are based purely on nature, after analysing the problem.
Students can develop coastal adaptation and risk reduction strategies in the face of extreme natural phenomena and climate change.
Students should learn about the use of different discrete and continuous random variables by performing parameter estimation calculations, applying basic technical programming tools for mathematical, numerical and statistical analysis.
Students achieve how to know and apply the different time scales of analysis (seasonality, interannual variability, secular trends, etc.) of different environmental variables, and are able to analyze data and its graphical manipulation: interpolation, adjustment and regression.
Students understand the most well-known discrete and continuous distributions, as well as the difference between the parameters of distribution and estimators of the parameters (with their confidence intervals), making adjustments to the distributions by using methods of maximum likelihood and moments, obtaining the estimators of the parameters and the confidence intervals, performing Monte Carlo simulations, and knowing the characteristics of medium and extreme wave regimes, knowing when they should be used.
Students can plan and carry out an experimental data acquisition campaign in coastal areas, and know how to use appropriate instrumentation and technologies for the study and observation of coastal systems.
Students should be able to collect, process and present various types of observational data from coastal zones.
Students acquire knowledge and understanding of global changes, in particular climate change, and their effects on coastal hazards and associated risks to coastal goods and communities.
Students gain an understanding of coastal dynamics and the corresponding impacts on coastal settlements, infrastructures and ecosystems, and how climate change can affect and modify or disturb existing dynamics.
Students gain the ability to use a wide range of modelling tools for engineering and climate-related studies to simulate the coastal system and dynamics, calibrating and validating such models from observational data, using them for scenario analysis.
Students are able to identify the consequences of the expected impacts of climate variability and climate change on coastal settlements, infrastructures and ecosystems, under different levels of uncertainty based on different concentration pathways (RCPs).
Students are able to integrate climate change conditions at different temporal and spatial scales into (risk) management in coastal hazards.
Students achieve a comprehensive understanding of the theory and practice of climate adaptation solutions to climate change problems on the coast, using both hard solutions and building with nature (green skills development).
Students are able to apply technical knowledge to a concrete case study, supervising an adaptive solution project to solve a complex problem through the proper handling of individual tasks within a team.
Students acquire the ability to conduct advanced research on a specific scientific topic related to coastal hazards and climate change, and to write a thesis as well as an academic manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.